Empire 8

[met_fan]

Head Coaches from other places
Coach Goodemote-maybe they can convince him to reconsider
Tom Murphy-(already mentioned) maybe, just maybe...
Chris Downs-head coach at SLU-can't believe he would leave the team he has coming back, but would be a nice hire for Utica
Tobin Anderson-head coach at Hamilton-could see him being interested
Bob Montana-Head Coach at Union-just a hunch
Rob Kornaker-Head Coach-SJF-same with Downs, can't see him leaving, but maybe.
I don't know who, but I would guess a SUNYAC coach or two may want to look at Utica

Just curious, but barring some strange circumstance, why would any of these coaches be interested in trading their job in to go to Utica?

Murphy- Legend in the area. Hosed out of his head coaching job. Longtime Rival of UC when the rivalry was crazier than Fisher/naz is now. A return to the area as a head coach could be very interesting for him.

Downs- Having coached at a school a few miles from there, that area is beautiful, but absolutely sucks if you ever need consumer goods or medical care. The -40 degree winters take a toll as well.

Anderson- Hamilton has done some crappy things to coaches.

Montana- Utica is a better job.



BTW, Mets are on SNY today! Should be a great season!

Murphy already had a head coaching job in Utica that he left to go work in D-1 with a bunch of his former players in a great area (Boston).  Plus, he's also not exactly at the age that you want to build a program around.

As for the others, I just don't see someone leaving St. Lawrence, Hamilton, or Union to coach Utica.  While it may be that they've been at least as good, if not better, than those teams the past several years, I think the prestige of the school comes into play as well.  No disrespect meant to Utica, but it just doesn't have the same kind of reputation as those other schools.  I think that plays a big part when it comes to where people might or might not want to coach, especially if they're already well established somewhere.  Again, I'm not trying to dump on Utica, that's just how it seems to usually work.

[FisherDynasty]

I think Utica is going to be up there next year as well, as long as they get a descent coach and players dont leave.  Not sure how much goodemote leaving is going to affect their recruiting class.

[UCgrad45]

Head Coaches from other places
Coach Goodemote-maybe they can convince him to reconsider
Tom Murphy-(already mentioned) maybe, just maybe...
Chris Downs-head coach at SLU-can't believe he would leave the team he has coming back, but would be a nice hire for Utica
Tobin Anderson-head coach at Hamilton-could see him being interested
Bob Montana-Head Coach at Union-just a hunch
Rob Kornaker-Head Coach-SJF-same with Downs, can't see him leaving, but maybe.
I don't know who, but I would guess a SUNYAC coach or two may want to look at Utica

Just curious, but barring some strange circumstance, why would any of these coaches be interested in trading their job in to go to Utica?

Murphy- Legend in the area. Hosed out of his head coaching job. Longtime Rival of UC when the rivalry was crazier than Fisher/naz is now. A return to the area as a head coach could be very interesting for him.

Downs- Having coached at a school a few miles from there, that area is beautiful, but absolutely sucks if you ever need consumer goods or medical care. The -40 degree winters take a toll as well.

Anderson- Hamilton has done some crappy things to coaches.

Montana- Utica is a better job.



BTW, Mets are on SNY today! Should be a great season!

Murphy already had a head coaching job in Utica that he left to go work in D-1 with a bunch of his former players in a great area (Boston).  Plus, he's also not exactly at the age that you want to build a program around.

As for the others, I just don't see someone leaving St. Lawrence, Hamilton, or Union to coach Utica.  While it may be that they've been at least as good, if not better, than those teams the past several years, I think the prestige of the school comes into play as well.  No disrespect meant to Utica, but it just doesn't have the same kind of reputation as those other schools.  I think that plays a big part when it comes to where people might or might not want to coach, especially if they're already well established somewhere.  Again, I'm not trying to dump on Utica, that's just how it seems to usually work.

Murphy was forced out of Hamilton.

The St. Lawrence job is nowhere near as good a job as Utica. Especially if you plan on having a family. It sucks living up there as a coach.

UC as a school has made leaps and bounds over the last 5 years and continues to grow. Facilities are better, more programs, still a Syracuse degree, and athletics improving each year.

[UCgrad45]

I think Utica is going to be up there next year as well, as long as they get a descent coach and players dont leave.  Not sure how much goodemote leaving is going to affect their recruiting class.

Another reason why I hope they fill the position quickly. Fortunately, there aren't a lot of roster spots to fill.

[met_fan]

Murphy was forced out of Hamilton.

The St. Lawrence job is nowhere near as good a job as Utica. Especially if you plan on having a family. It sucks living up there as a coach.

UC as a school has made leaps and bounds over the last 5 years and continues to grow. Facilities are better, more programs, still a Syracuse degree, and athletics improving each year.

Murphy was not forced out of SUNY IT, which is what I was referring to. 

There are plenty of people who enjoy living in a place like the north country - I don't know if he is one of them or not, but it's not as though moving 100 miles down Rt. 12 to Utica is like moving to San Diego.  In fact, it snows more in Utica than it does in Canton.

[sjfcards]

If Ithaca could not win this year with the players that they had...then they will never win...

Maybe next year with Burton and Bostic back.

[gobombers15]

If Ithaca could not win this year with the players that they had...then they will never win...

As several people mentioned, they have the same players next year.

Last night was an example of an old fashion butt kickin period. Fisher was faster to offensive rebounds, loose balls and beat Ithaca in about every aspect. Burton had 25 but he earned them. You can 't even breath on that kid and its a foul. If Fisher plays like that today it's gonna be another Empire 8 tourney title. I think J. Beig proved he is at least second team. He owned Bostic just like Fisher has owned Ithaca in Ithaca.

1) Who did Beigel own? He had 9 pts and 3 rebs with 6 mins left and Fisher up 24. Glad he scored 9 during those very important last six minutes. Stop just looking at box scores and making conclusions from them.

2) I can see why Beigel fouls out so often. A smart defender could get him to commit 2-3 offensive fouls per game. Two of his three moves (the spin move and the backdown) are telegraphed and involve a lot of contact. He lowers his shoulder into the defender's chest a lot. This is successful against shot-blockers like Bostic. But defenders can just plant their feet and wait for the shoulder and it'll be a charge going the other way. We'll see if Ryan McAdam does that today.

3) Yes, Burton is great at drawing fouls. Plus, it doesn't hurt that he was POY. He doesn't get any more calls than Sean O'Brien did when he was playing. Whenever Fisher got into trouble, which wasn't too often, you could bet your bottom dollar that O'Brien would go barrelling through the lane, crash into a big, hurl the ball at the hoop and go to the line for two. I'm not saying Burton's better, but Burton does have a little better offensive game so it's no surprise he goes to the line so much. However, I would have liked having O'Brien's steadying influence and ability to right the ship last night when things were going to hell for Ithaca and nobody made a play for the Bombers or settled things down.

Other random thoughts from last night:

-Where was the Bostic who had been playing with a chip on his shoulder for the last 2.5 weeks of the season? That Bostic was a beast down the stretch. Didn't see that same angry/aggressive Bostic last night.

-Brendan Rogers: I think he's still chirping at the refs. Can't let them throw you off your game and, last night, he was taken out of his game by a couple of calls he disagreed with. Just play.

-Sean Leahy is in the box score, but are we positive he actually played in that game?

-Ithaca needed double-figures from two of the Leahy, Brown, Kail, Rogers group to win. Instead, they scored 2, 4, 2, 6 points. That's not going to win anything for you.

Can't take anything away from Fisher, played a great game. Seems like they love playing in The Bulb. Will be interesting to see the type of crowd that shows up today for Fisher/Naz. Will probably be the emptiest gym that you'll ever see for a game between those two teams. If Fisher plays like they did last night, they'll be in the NCAA's (and, unfortunately, probably get fed to UR). Really is tough to beat the same team three times and I've gotta think Fisher's figured some things out, especially considering how well they played in the 2nd half of the second Naz game. I'll take Fisher, 83-76.

[sjfcards]

I tend to agree with you gobombers except for beigle only having two moves. He scores in a lot of different ways, and he scores against every team he plays. Yes he gets into foul trouble, because he is big, strong, and physical. I don't think anyone who was at the game last night wouldn't say that Beigle outplayed Bostic. He has been scoring on people for 4 years now. Lets give him some credit.

[gobombers15]

I tend to agree with you gobombers except for beigle only having two moves. He scores in a lot of different ways, and he scores against every team he plays. Yes he gets into foul trouble, because he is big, strong, and physical. I don't think anyone who was at the game last night wouldn't say that Beigle outplayed Bostic. He has been scoring on people for 4 years now. Lets give him some credit.

I said he has three moves. I was not referring to the pump-fake/up-and-under he has, as well. Plus, I have often given Beigel credit. I just don't think he warranted second team this year. Ryan McAdam had a better season than him, even if he did miss a few conference games.

[superman57]

Beigle got 2nd team because he was a senior and because they had to give someone from Fisher on spot on one of the two teams

[buck1053]

Head Coaches from other places
Coach Goodemote-maybe they can convince him to reconsider
Tom Murphy-(already mentioned) maybe, just maybe...
Chris Downs-head coach at SLU-can't believe he would leave the team he has coming back, but would be a nice hire for Utica
Tobin Anderson-head coach at Hamilton-could see him being interested
Bob Montana-Head Coach at Union-just a hunch
Rob Kornaker-Head Coach-SJF-same with Downs, can't see him leaving, but maybe.
I don't know who, but I would guess a SUNYAC coach or two may want to look at Utica

Just curious, but barring some strange circumstance, why would any of these coaches be interested in trading their job in to go to Utica?

Murphy- Legend in the area. Hosed out of his head coaching job. Longtime Rival of UC when the rivalry was crazier than Fisher/naz is now. A return to the area as a head coach could be very interesting for him.

Downs- Having coached at a school a few miles from there, that area is beautiful, but absolutely sucks if you ever need consumer goods or medical care. The -40 degree winters take a toll as well.

Anderson- Hamilton has done some crappy things to coaches.

Montana- Utica is a better job.



BTW, Mets are on SNY today! Should be a great season!

Murphy already had a head coaching job in Utica that he left to go work in D-1 with a bunch of his former players in a great area (Boston).  Plus, he's also not exactly at the age that you want to build a program around.

As for the others, I just don't see someone leaving St. Lawrence, Hamilton, or Union to coach Utica.  While it may be that they've been at least as good, if not better, than those teams the past several years, I think the prestige of the school comes into play as well.  No disrespect meant to Utica, but it just doesn't have the same kind of reputation as those other schools.  I think that plays a big part when it comes to where people might or might not want to coach, especially if they're already well established somewhere.  Again, I'm not trying to dump on Utica, that's just how it seems to usually work.

Murphy was forced out of Hamilton.

The St. Lawrence job is nowhere near as good a job as Utica. Especially if you plan on having a family. It sucks living up there as a coach.

UC as a school has made leaps and bounds over the last 5 years and continues to grow. Facilities are better, more programs, still a Syracuse degree, and athletics improving each year.

UC,

I'm wondering when you graduated, because Utica doesn't have any sort of tradition close to any of the other schools in the E8 or LL, except for maybe Vassar. In addition, I don't see any coach in the E8 leaving their post to take another job in the same league.

You are correct in the fact the college has improved by leaps and bounds, and athletics is improving. That is all true, but that does not mean Utica is a more desirable job than the ones currently held by the coaches you mentioned.

As far as Murphy goes, he's got it good as a DI assistant at Northeastern, and I don't expect to see him back on the sidelines as head coach, especially not at the D3 level.

I think the more likely scenario is to see one of the assistants mentioned -- Gorski was my first thought, since he assisted Goodemote before moving on, but Driscoll is intriguing possibility as well. If not an assistant, maybe a head coach from a worse league, but I don't see anyone from E8, LL or SUNYAC taking the Utica job.

[UCgrad45]

Head Coaches from other places
Coach Goodemote-maybe they can convince him to reconsider
Tom Murphy-(already mentioned) maybe, just maybe...
Chris Downs-head coach at SLU-can't believe he would leave the team he has coming back, but would be a nice hire for Utica
Tobin Anderson-head coach at Hamilton-could see him being interested
Bob Montana-Head Coach at Union-just a hunch
Rob Kornaker-Head Coach-SJF-same with Downs, can't see him leaving, but maybe.
I don't know who, but I would guess a SUNYAC coach or two may want to look at Utica

Just curious, but barring some strange circumstance, why would any of these coaches be interested in trading their job in to go to Utica?

Murphy- Legend in the area. Hosed out of his head coaching job. Longtime Rival of UC when the rivalry was crazier than Fisher/naz is now. A return to the area as a head coach could be very interesting for him.

Downs- Having coached at a school a few miles from there, that area is beautiful, but absolutely sucks if you ever need consumer goods or medical care. The -40 degree winters take a toll as well.

Anderson- Hamilton has done some crappy things to coaches.

Montana- Utica is a better job.



BTW, Mets are on SNY today! Should be a great season!

Murphy already had a head coaching job in Utica that he left to go work in D-1 with a bunch of his former players in a great area (Boston).  Plus, he's also not exactly at the age that you want to build a program around.

As for the others, I just don't see someone leaving St. Lawrence, Hamilton, or Union to coach Utica.  While it may be that they've been at least as good, if not better, than those teams the past several years, I think the prestige of the school comes into play as well.  No disrespect meant to Utica, but it just doesn't have the same kind of reputation as those other schools.  I think that plays a big part when it comes to where people might or might not want to coach, especially if they're already well established somewhere.  Again, I'm not trying to dump on Utica, that's just how it seems to usually work.

Murphy was forced out of Hamilton.

The St. Lawrence job is nowhere near as good a job as Utica. Especially if you plan on having a family. It sucks living up there as a coach.

UC as a school has made leaps and bounds over the last 5 years and continues to grow. Facilities are better, more programs, still a Syracuse degree, and athletics improving each year.

UC,

I'm wondering when you graduated, because Utica doesn't have any sort of tradition close to any of the other schools in the E8 or LL, except for maybe Vassar. In addition, I don't see any coach in the E8 leaving their post to take another job in the same league.

You are correct in the fact the college has improved by leaps and bounds, and athletics is improving. That is all true, but that does not mean Utica is a more desirable job than the ones currently held by the coaches you mentioned.

As far as Murphy goes, he's got it good as a DI assistant at Northeastern, and I don't expect to see him back on the sidelines as head coach, especially not at the D3 level.

I think the more likely scenario is to see one of the assistants mentioned -- Gorski was my first thought, since he assisted Goodemote before moving on, but Driscoll is intriguing possibility as well. If not an assistant, maybe a head coach from a worse league, but I don't see anyone from E8, LL or SUNYAC taking the Utica job.

Buck, you know me.

Were you aware UC was D1 and had an NBA hall of famer as coach? Were you also aware of the UC/Hamilton days where it was standing room only and assistant coacges actually got in fistfights on the court?

UC had about a decade prior to Goodie after coming back from being D1 where they were down. However they went back a long way with some quality ball against real good teams.

St. Lawrence may have appeal in terms of the program, but the intangibles suck. You can't even go out because inevitably you will end up in the same establishments as your players. It is hundreds of miles before getting into any talent worth recruiting. It's either pay double the amount for groceries as the rest of the state, or drive to Syracuse to stock up. It's -40 out in the winter.

[bamm]

Congratulations to Nazareth. 

[sjfcards]

As much as it kills me to say it, I think the best team in the E8 won the championship todday. Fisher played well, and really could/should have won. However, Naz did all they had to do, and held off FIsher in the late stages. Congratulations to Naz, Good luck in the Tourny.

[scooterman]

Congrats to Naz!!! Nice job